Hey everybody - just found a nice hotel 1.1 miles from Mission Beach - The Dana on Mission Bay. Look on Hotels.com, search San Diego, and check Mission Beach as landmark, then 2 miles for distance. Price is $138 per night (normally $276 per night), price good until midnight tonight. You can cancel without a fee until 8 May. Hotel is rated 4.2 out of 5, has refrig, microwave, and.... a bathrobe! If the club finds a better deal, I'll cancel, but right now this looks like the best deal that close to the venue.

Ryan and co.,Sadly I moved out west last fall and left the comforts of the DC tri club but I'm glad to hear there will be a big DC crew out here for the race. I'm happy to host a few people at my place in La Jolla (about 10-15 minute drive from race site) for the weekend. There's plenty of space and it's a nice location. Ryan, shoot me an email at justinnunez AT gmail if you are still organizing housing and I can give you more info.-Justin

Hey Everyone! I just found all of this and I am so excited about the discount and free bike shipping! I'm planning on going to this race! I'm on a super-tight budget (grad student...) so I was wondering if someone could maybe summarize this discussion for me (especially any awesome deals etc)?

I also just booked a hotel. I went on expedia and got a room at America's Best Value for 2 people, $44 a night! Now it's probably not a super high end establishment (ha!!!), but there is free breakfast and I'm a poor graduate student, so this works for me! It's only 4 miles from the beach, so I can't roll out of bed into transition, but I can certainly roll there pretty quickly by bike or car! :)

I also just booked a hotel. I went on expedia and got a room at America's Best Value for 2 people, $44 a night! Now it's probably not a super high end establishment (ha!!!), but there is free breakfast and I'm a poor graduate student, so this works for me! It's only 4 miles from the beach, so I can't roll out of bed into transition, but I can certainly roll there pretty quickly by bike or car! :)

Thanks for your patience here while USAT gets the logistics ironed out. I spoke with Rob Urbach (USAT CEO) this past week at the Triathlon America conference and I'm now in direct discussions with the team handling the plans for bike transport. I do not have any more details at this time but as soon as I have them, I will inform the group.

USAT shared a draft bike transport plan with me earlier this week. They asked that I hold off on sharing while they obtain final approval of the plan from the shipping company. Should be ready to communicate the plan to all of you by no later than this Friday (3/23).

As promised, here are the details for the bike transportation. I'll also be sending these details in an email to everyone who is registered for the race as we get close to departure day. For now..be sure to register soon if you are planning on racing because we need to account for every single member going in our bike transport roster.

Here are the details you've been patiently waiting for:

Schedule

Sunday 5/6 - members will drop off bikes between Noon and 7pm at a location still to be determined. It may be one of our bike shop partners or it may be another location that USAT provides. Those details will be shared as soon as they are in place.

Thursday 5/10 - bikes will arrive in San Diego. Pick up details and location are still TBD. My guess is that this will all occur at the race site to accommodate fluctuating arrival schedules, etc.

Saturday 5/12 - members will drop off bikes starting anytime after you complete your race until 8pm. Again, my guess is that the location will be right on race site but these details still need to be confirmed.

Sunday 5/13 - this is not recommended but bikes can also be dropped off between 8am and 10am. The truck will depart San Diego at 12pm sharp! If you're bike is not there you will be SOL.

Thursday 5/17 - bikes can be picked up at a location still TBD between 7am and 5pm.

Insurance

USAT has secured a $5 million insurance policy for transportation. In other word's...your bike is safe and if fit hits the shan...you get a new bike. :-)

Transportation Logistics

I asked the COO of USAT, Tim Yount, if we needed to pack the bikes and how the bikes will be loaded and cared for while en route and this was his response...

"No need for a carrying case. We are creating a packing system that will protect the frames (blankets, bubble wrap, bungy, etc). We are also taking a quick inventory of the paint job and taking photos of person with frame so we have a person/frame ID system in place."

This all sounds pretty good to me. These guys really have a solid plan. I hope these details help firm up some of your plans and concerns.